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The University of Edinburgh
Philosophy, Science and Religion: Science and Philosophy
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The University of Edinburgh

Philosophy, Science and Religion: Science and Philosophy

Dr J Adam Carter
Dr Orestis Palermos
Professor Mark Harris

Instructors: Dr J Adam Carter

Instructors

Instructor ratings

We asked all learners to give feedback on our instructors based on the quality of their teaching style.

4.7 (197 ratings)
Dr J Adam Carter
Dr J Adam Carter
The University of Edinburgh
3 Courses•103,836 learners
Dr Orestis Palermos
Dr Orestis Palermos
The University of Edinburgh
3 Courses•103,836 learners
Professor Mark Harris
Professor Mark Harris
The University of Edinburgh
3 Courses•103,836 learners
Professor Duncan Pritchard
Professor Duncan Pritchard
The University of Edinburgh
11 Courses•902,258 learners

61,987 already enrolled

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5 modules
Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.5

(1,071 reviews)

Beginner level
No prior experience required
Flexible schedule
2 weeks at 10 hours a week
Learn at your own pace
96%
Most learners liked this course

5 modules
Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.5

(1,071 reviews)

Beginner level
No prior experience required
Flexible schedule
2 weeks at 10 hours a week
Learn at your own pace
96%
Most learners liked this course
  • About
  • Modules
  • Recommendations
  • Testimonials
  • Reviews

Skills you'll gain

  • Psychology
  • General Science and Research
  • Deductive Reasoning
  • Biology
  • Sociology
  • Research
  • Anthropology
  • Scientific Methods
  • Cultural Diversity

Details to know

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Assessments

22 assignments¹

AI Graded see disclaimer
Taught in English

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There are 5 modules in this course

Philosophy, Science and Religion mark three of the most fundamental modes of thinking about the world and our place in it. Are these modes incompatible? Put another way: is the intellectually responsible thing to do to ‘pick sides’ and identify with one of these approaches at the exclusion of others? Or, are they complementary or mutually supportive? As is typical of questions of such magnitude, the devil is in the details. For example, it is important to work out what is really distinctive about each of these ways of inquiring about the world. In order to gain some clarity here, we’ll be investigating what some of the current leading thinkers in philosophy, science and religion are actually doing.

This course, entitled ‘Science and Philosophy’, is the first of three related courses in our Philosophy, Science and Religion Online series. The first launch is now closed to enrolments. We will launch a new version of the course in July 2018. The course will address four themes each presented by guest lecturers: 1. Are Science and Religion in conflict? (Professor Michael Murray, Franklin & Marshall) 2. Neuroscience and Free Will (Professor Al Mele, Florida State) 3. Creationism and Evolutionary Biology--Science or Pseudo-science? (Dr. Mark Harris and Dr. David de Pomerai, University of Edinburgh) 4. Do Scientific claims constitute absolute truths? (Professor Martin Kusch, University of Vienna) The second and third courses in the Philosophy, Science and Religion series are ‘Philosophy and Religion’ and ‘Religion and Science’. They may be taken in any order and completing all three courses will give you a broader understanding of this fascinating topic. Look for: • Philosophy, Science and Religion II: Philosophy and Religion • Philosophy, Science and Religion III: Religion and Science Check out our trailer to hear more: https://youtu.be/OifqTI5VKek You can also follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/EdiPhilOnline and you can follow the hashtag #psrmooc

In this module, Dr Orestis Palermos provides a short introduction and overview of the key themes that will be discussed in the ‘Science and Philosophy’ course.

What's included

1 video1 reading1 discussion prompt

1 video•Total 3 minutes
  • Overview of the course by Dr. Orestis Palermos•3 minutes
1 reading•Total 10 minutes
  • Accompanying Textbook: Philosophy, Science and Religion for Everyone•10 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 10 minutes
  • Introduce yourself•10 minutes

In this module Professor Al Mele presents experiments that purport to show that there is no such thing as free will. He then presents three criticisms of this interpretation of the evidence.

What's included

7 videos5 readings5 assignments1 peer review1 discussion prompt

7 videos•Total 52 minutes
  • Introduction•10 minutes
  • Study 1•10 minutes
  • Study 2 and 3•4 minutes
  • Problem 1•8 minutes
  • Problem 2•8 minutes
  • Problem 3•8 minutes
  • Conclusion•1 minute
5 readings•Total 50 minutes
  • [YouTube video] The Libet Experiment: Is Free Will Just an Illusion?•10 minutes
  • Free Will and Science•10 minutes
  • Al Mele - Free Will and Neuroscience•10 minutes
  • Free Will - The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy•10 minutes
  • Podcasts•10 minutes
5 assignments•Total 20 minutes
  • 1: Libet’s experiment•5 minutes
  • 2: Observing changes in the brain•5 minutes
  • 3: Is there a problem with the three studies presented?•5 minutes
  • 4: The point of no return•0 minutes
  • 5: Libet studies•5 minutes
1 peer review•Total 60 minutes
  • Does science show that there is no such thing as free will?•60 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 10 minutes
  • Does it matter if we have free will or not?•10 minutes

Guest lecturer: Dr Michael Murray. Are science and religion compatible with one another? Are they incompatible? What do these questions even mean, and how do we go about answering them? Philosophical tools are helpful to make progress with these very important questions. In this module, Dr Michael Murray offers a philosophical analysis of the complex and easily misunderstood issue of the relationship between science and religion.

What's included

7 videos2 readings3 assignments1 peer review

7 videos•Total 50 minutes
  • Conflicting in Principle•11 minutes
  • Non-Conflicting in Principle•8 minutes
  • Potentially Conflicting•6 minutes
  • Can Science Support Religious Beliefs?•5 minutes
  • A Theoretical Challenge•6 minutes
  • A Challenge from Evolutionary Psychology•10 minutes
  • Summary•0 minutes
2 readings•Total 30 minutes
  • Further Reading on Religion & Science•0 minutes
  • [Video Lecture] Tom McLeish on the Theology of Science•30 minutes
3 assignments•Total 90 minutes
  • 1: Definition of science•30 minutes
  • 2: The relationship between science and religion•30 minutes
  • 3: Evolutionary psychology•30 minutes
1 peer review•Total 120 minutes
  • Peer-reviewed essay question•120 minutes

Guest lecturer: Professor Martin Kusch. This module will focus on a central challenge for scientific knowledge: Are there any scientific claims that are absolutely true, or are they all true relative to the system of thought that generated them? If we accept the latter, does this also hold true of any claims we might make, including within the domains of philosophy and religion?

What's included

5 videos3 readings3 assignments1 peer review1 discussion prompt

5 videos•Total 70 minutes
  • What is Relativism?•6 minutes
  • The Sociology of Science•19 minutes
  • Kuhn and the Structure of Scientific Revolutions•10 minutes
  • Relativism and Science•17 minutes
  • The Future of Relativism in the Study of Science•16 minutes
3 readings•Total 45 minutes
  • [Video Lecture] Stathis Psillos on Scientific Realism•45 minutes
  • Further Reading on Relativism•0 minutes
  • Podcasts, Interviews, and Videos•0 minutes
3 assignments•Total 90 minutes
  • 1: Relativists about morality•30 minutes
  • 2: Karl Popper and scientific rationality•30 minutes
  • 3: Paul Feyerabend and scientific experiment and theoretician•30 minutes
1 peer review•Total 120 minutes
  • Peer-reviewed essay question•120 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 10 minutes
  • Does disagreement about a subject constitute a good reason to be a relativist about the subject matter in question?•10 minutes

This module starts with Dr. Mark Harris presenting the history of creationist views and what is claimed about evolution by different creationist approaches. Professor David de Pomerai then goes on to explain what evolutionary biology is.

What's included

14 videos5 readings11 assignments1 peer review2 discussion prompts

14 videos•Total 46 minutes
  • Introduction•3 minutes
  • The Creation of Creationism•5 minutes
  • 'True Science'?•5 minutes
  • The Concept of Evolution•3 minutes
  • Genetic Variation•1 minute
  • Selection•2 minutes
  • The Species Concept and Evolution•3 minutes
  • Gradualism Versus Punctuated Equilibrium•2 minutes
  • The Origin of Life•3 minutes
  • The Origin of Animals•3 minutes
  • Evolution of Behaviour; Sexual Selection and Co-evolution•2 minutes
  • Evolution of Human Culture•1 minute
  • Creation, Evolution and Science•3 minutes
  • Summary•2 minutes
5 readings•Total 30 minutes
  • Science and Pseudoscience•10 minutes
  • Harris & De Pomerai - Creationism and evolutionary biology•10 minutes
  • Post-Course Survey•10 minutes
  • Further Reading on Creationism and Evolutionary Biology•0 minutes
  • Podcasts, Interviews, and Videos•0 minutes
11 assignments•Total 55 minutes
  • 1: The creation of creationism•0 minutes
  • 2: Earth Creationists•10 minutes
  • 3: What is scientific?•5 minutes
  • 4: Common ancestor•5 minutes
  • 5: Natural selection•5 minutes
  • 6: Convergent evolution•5 minutes
  • 7: Punctuated equilibria•5 minutes
  • 8: Evolution•5 minutes
  • 9: Ediacaran fossils•5 minutes
  • 10: Arms race•5 minutes
  • 11: DNA•5 minutes
1 peer review•Total 120 minutes
  • Optional essay question•120 minutes
2 discussion prompts•Total 20 minutes
  • How would you distinguish science from ‘pseudo-science’?•10 minutes
  • How important is Darwin’s natural selection as an evolutionary mechanism in modern evolutionary biology?•10 minutes

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Instructors

Instructor ratings

Instructor ratings

We asked all learners to give feedback on our instructors based on the quality of their teaching style.

4.7 (197 ratings)
Dr J Adam Carter
Dr J Adam Carter
The University of Edinburgh
3 Courses•103,836 learners
Dr Orestis Palermos
Dr Orestis Palermos
The University of Edinburgh
3 Courses•103,836 learners

Instructors

Instructor ratings

We asked all learners to give feedback on our instructors based on the quality of their teaching style.

4.7 (197 ratings)
Dr J Adam Carter
Dr J Adam Carter
The University of Edinburgh
3 Courses•103,836 learners
Dr Orestis Palermos
Dr Orestis Palermos
The University of Edinburgh
3 Courses•103,836 learners
Professor Mark Harris
Professor Mark Harris
The University of Edinburgh
3 Courses•103,836 learners
Professor Duncan Pritchard
Professor Duncan Pritchard
The University of Edinburgh
11 Courses•902,258 learners

Offered by

The University of Edinburgh

Offered by

The University of Edinburgh

Edinburgh. Extraordinary futures await. Ranked in the top 50 universities in the world, the University of Edinburgh has been a leader in digital education since the earliest days of online learning. Embracing the technological and pedagogical opportunities of our digital age, the University provides an outstanding online distance learning experience as part of our commitment to making learning accessible to all. Whatever excites you, whatever your ambition, whatever makes you ‘you’, we know one thing; nothing ordinary comes from this extraordinary place.

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